MIAMI—It’s something that LeBron James has seen too many times to really care to dwell on.

Ray Allen with the game on the line, finding just enough open space to hoist a line-drive 3-pointer and crush the hopes of his opponents. During his time with Boston, Allen delivered those kinds of daggers to James’ teams in Cleveland and Miami.

Now, though, Allen is a teammate with the Heat. And it was his 3-pointer from the corner with 5.2 seconds to play in regulation that proved to be a dagger that, this time around, served to bolster rather than harm James’ cause. Allen’s 3 sent Thursday’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals into overtime, where Allen scored four points to push his team to a 103-100 win and force a Game 7 on Thursday.

Consider the shot repayment for the work James put in last summer in recruiting Allen, a free agent, to leave Boston and head to Miami.

“I did a lot,” James said of making his pitch to Allen. “I called him, texted him. Just knew what he could bring to our team. I've been on the other end of seeing him get them feet down, putting them stupid two fingers after he make the shot. Not so stupid anymore now that he's my teammate. I love it. He's big‑time. He's big‑time. We love, we're so happy to have him, man. He creates so much for our team. And to have someone as dangerous as that on our roster, man, it means so much.”

James actually missed a shot to set up the Allen tying make. After the miss, Chris Bosh grabbed the offensive rebound and squeezed a pass to Allen in the corner, with Spurs guard Tony Parker quickly scurrying to contest. It was too late—Allen’s notable quick-trigger stroke was through, and the shot was good.

“LeBron took the shot, and I knew we had time,” Allen said. “I went into the paint to try to get the ball and make something happen. At that point there's no guarantee who is going to get the ball or what may happen.

And when I saw (Bosh) get the ball, I just backpedaled right to the 3‑point line, and I was hoping I was where I needed to be. But I wasn't quite sure. But just from years of shooting, I got to my spot.”

Allen registered nine points on the night, but it was ability to come through in crunch time that mattered most. And, after seeing so many calls and bounces go against the Heat throughout the course of Game 6, Allen readily acknowledged that there was a healthy dose of good fortune involved in that shot, and the win in general.

“It's going to be a shot that I'm going to remember for a long time,” he said. “There's a lot of shots that I've made in my career, but this will go high up in the ranks because of the situation. Just the way that whole last minute and a half unfolded, it wasn't looking good for us.

"You know, we've been a part of many plays where the ball has a funky bounce to it. And I've known my whole career sometimes you just get lucky. When you win championships, it involves a little luck. That right there was luck shining on our side.”